The Cheyenne came to Montana a little later than the Crow, but they had a similar history. Like the Crow, the Cheyenne were pushed off their land and forced to move westward, and they too adopted the nomadic ways of the Plains Indians.

Trouble Back East

Extent of Plains Indians

First the Cheyenne were pushed from the Great Lakes region to the upper Mississippi Valley, and it was there in 1680 that the French first encountered them. Remember, the French had a strong presence in the upper-northwest and Canada long before the Seven Years’ War was fought beginning in 1754. The encounter occurred near the French Fort Crevecoeur, near Chicago when the Cheyenne approached offering to trade. This angered the nearby Chippewa and Sioux tribes, who wanted to control the land for themselves, and their attacks drove the Cheyenne further west. They eventually ended up on the northeastern plains, and even established several villages long the Missouri River around 1676. Still, the Chippewa and Sioux continued to attack them, and were now aided by the Assiniboin. The Cheyenne allied themselves with the Mandan and Arikara in response, and much cultural interaction took place between the three tribes, as well as with the Hidatsa. These new influences on the Cheyenne would also play a major role in how their culture and way of life changed. Over time, and through these forced movements, the more agrarian way of life they once knew gave way to one that was more nomadic and indicative of the Plains Indians they would become. And sometime around 1750 they acquired horses, which would make their moves westward easier, and aid them in becoming more nomadic as well.

Pushed Too Far

South Dakota's Black Hills

Their westward expansion continued, and by 1730 they were in the Black Hills, where they would introduce the horse to the Lakota. Things went sour, however, and the Lakota and the Ojibwa teamed up to keep the Cheyenne moving on. By 1776 they had succeeded in pushing them out, and their long exodus continued. The Cheyenne pushed on, although this time they found a weaker opponent in the Kiowa, and pushed them south, taking up their former land in Montana. All that the Cheyenne had wanted to do was trade, and that’s pretty much how they ended up in Montana. After all, if they never had gone to that French fort, they may never have been pushed west. Still, their mercantile sprits never dampened, and they would go on to be great trading partners with the Whites to come.

Buffalo Jumps

Alfred Jacob Miller Painting

One feature that separated the Cheyenne and other Plains Indian tribes from those that pushed them west was their nomadic lifestyle. And one thing that made this lifestyle so easy to maintain for so long was the bison. Buffalo roamed the plains in such great numbers that there was never any real need to save anything for tomorrow, and you certainly didn’t have to plant crops and spend time harvesting them. The bison made life simple, and the Cheyenne and other tribes came up with creative ways to slaughter bison in large numbers, including the Buffalo Jump. It was a simple process, really. The Indians would herd the unsuspecting animals toward a large cliff where they would dumbly run off, plummeting to their deaths on the sharp and rocky stones below. Subterfuge helped, and many Indians donned wolf, antelope, and other animal skins so as to not frighten the animals.

Madison Buffalo Jump State Park

View from Below

Madison Buffalo Jump State Park in Gallatin County was one such place. The park today covers 638 acres, and one look at the rocky ledge from down below is enough to convince you that going over the side would have been quite fatal. If you’d like a closer view you can hike up the interpretive trail and get a look from above. The site was used by Native American tribes dating back to 500 BC, but it was the introduction of the horse that ended up making the buffalo jump obsolete. When you could ride by quickly on horseback and fire with your bow and arrow, sneaking up on your faster prey was no longer necessary. Notes Campbell, Gregory. "Cheyenne." Encyclopedia of World Cultures. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 12 Mar. 2013<http://www.encyclopedia.com>. Moore, John H. The Cheyenne. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing Co., 1999, pp. 15-16